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Editorial

Fighting the sex trade

Bill would strengthen Ohio’s effort to curtail human trafficking

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Wednesday March 26, 2014 5:24 AM

Human trafficking is a worldwide problem, one that won’t be solved with just one law in one
state. Still, House Bill 130, which recently had a hearing in the state Senate, is an important
step to stem human trafficking in Ohio.

The bill, passed by the House in June, would update state law and target certain acts that are
common among traffickers feeding the market for sex and coerced labor. It specifically seeks to add
stiffer penalties for trafficking developmentally disabled people, broaden the definition of
promoting prostitution and stop children from being placed with parents who have been convicted of
prostitution-related offenses.

A recent study estimated that more than 1,000 children are trafficked for sex in Ohio annually,
with another 3,000 young people at risk. The overarching force behind anti-trafficking efforts is
an acknowledgement that it is a widespread problem, which is further enabled by the Internet and
other forms of new media. It also is a recognition that, far from being a victimless crime,
prostitution often involves coercion and exploitation, especially of the young and vulnerable.

The bill, along with stepped-up law-enforcement efforts in Columbus and elsewhere, also goes
after the demand side of the sex trade by targeting customers, or “johns.” At the 5th Annual Human
Trafficking Awareness Day at the Statehouse in January, Theresa Flores, a Columbus-area
sex-trafficking survivor and victim advocate, said that going after sex workers and pimps can do
only so much.

“I can do this all day long, but it’s not going to do anything,” Flores said. “We have to go
after the demand.”

Vern Smith of the Defenders USA anti-trafficking group said at the same event: “If men don’t
stop buying sex with girls, the problem continues. It’s a demand-driven market.”

Columbus police have stepped up efforts to arrest more “johns” as a way to crack down on
prostitution and related trafficking. Law-enforcement officials have recognized that arresting the
same women over and over again while rarely going after their customers does little to stem the
tide; it does nothing to rehabilitate the women, who will be pressured by pimps to go right back to
selling sex as long as the buyers are there. A 2013 study for the Ohio Human Trafficking Commission
found that those who bought sex came from all walks of life.

The state has been contributing to anti-trafficking efforts on several fronts. The Ohio Turnpike
Commission is putting up posters in 14 service plazas around the states, urging people to be aware
of and report suspected signs of trafficking. The Department of Public Safety is distributing 5,000
posters; and the Department of Health has made materials available in all clinics for sexually
transmitted diseases.

Still, a tougher, targeted law is appropriate and necessary in the face of the devastation
caused by human trafficking. House Bill 130 can’t do it all, but it could be an important component
in the fight against trafficking.